Editing Peppered moth (section)

{{Short description|Species of moth}}
{{About|the insect|the [[Margaret Drabble]] novel|The Peppered Moth}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Peppered moth
| image = Biston betularia male.jpg
| image_caption = Male
| image2 = Peppered moth (Biston betularia) female.jpg
| image2_caption = Female
| status = 
| status_system = 
| taxon = Biston betularia
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = * ''B. b. alexandrina'' <small>(Wehrli, 1941)</small>
* ''B. b. betularia''
* ''B. b. cognataria'' <small>(Guenée, 1857)</small>
* ''B. b. contrasta'' <small>(Barnes & Benjamin, 1923)</small>
* ''B. b. parva'' <small>(Leech, 1897)</small>
* ''B. b. nepalensis'' <small>(Inoue, 1982)</small>
| synonyms = * ''Phalaena (Geometra) betularia'' <small>[[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]</small>
* ''Phalaena (Noctua) p-graecum'' <small>(Poda, 1761)</small>
* ''marmoraria'' <small>(Sepp, 1792)</small>
* ''Phalaena (Geometra) ulmaria'' <small>(Borkhausen, 1794)</small>
* ''Eubyja betularia''
* ''Amphidasis huberaria'' <small>(Ballion, 1866)</small>
* ''Amphidasys betularia var. doubledayaria'' <small>(Millière, 1870)</small>
* ''Eurbyjodonta concinna'' <small>(Warren, 1899)</small>
* ''Biston cognataria alexandrina'' <small>(Wehrli, 1941)</small>
* ''Biston (Eubyjodonta) huberaria'' <small>(tienschana Wehrli, 1941)</small>
* ''Biston cognataria sinitibetica'' <small>(Wehrli, 1941)</small>
}}

The '''peppered moth''' ('''''Biston betularia''''') is a temperate species of [[Nocturnality|night-flying]] [[moth]].<ref name="urlbsgran.people.wm.edu">{{cite journal |last=Grant |first=Bruce S. |author1-link=Bruce Grant (biologist) |title=Fine tuning the peppered moth paradigm: Reviewed Work: 'Melanism: Evolution in Action' by Michael E. N. Majerus |year=1999 |journal=Evolution |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=980–984 |doi=10.2307/2640740 |jstor=2640740 }}</ref> It is mostly found in the northern hemisphere in places like Asia, Europe and North America.  [[Peppered moth evolution]] is an example of [[population genetics]] and [[natural selection]].<ref name="Icon6NCSE">{{cite web |last=Gishlick |first=Alan |date=November 23, 2006|title=Icon 6 — Peppered Moths|url=http://ncse.com/creationism/analysis/icon-6-peppered-moths|access-date=2009-12-19 |publisher=[[National Center for Science Education]]}}</ref>

The caterpillars of the peppered moth not only mimic the form but also the colour of a twig. Recent research indicates that the caterpillars can sense the twig's colour with their skin and match their body colour to the background to protect themselves from predators.<ref name="Eacock">{{cite web |url=http://www.ice.mpg.de/ext/index.php?id=1570 |title=Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background |access-date=2019-08-02 |author1=Eacock, A. |author2=Rowland, H. R. |author3=van’t Hof, A. E.  |author4=Yung, C. |author5=Edmonds, N. |author6=Saccheri, I. J. |date=August 2019 }}</ref>
<!-- Eacock, A., Rowland, H.R., van’t Hof, A.E., Yung, C., Edmonds, N., Saccheri, I.J. (2019) Extraocular photoreception mediates adaptive colour change and background choice behaviour in peppered moth caterpillars. Nature Communications, DOI10.1038/s42003-019-0502-7 -->